THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO FANTOMAS:
i once read a short article on the order handed out to russian border guards to be polite and smile when confronted by tourists on account of the many complaints against them.
it further commented that "It should be pointed out that smiling simply for the sake of being polite and not because one wants to make a sincere gesture is quite alien to the Russian mind. In general, a smile from a Russian really means something for the person at the receiving end and a Russian who smiles at people whom s/he does not even know is assumed to be mentally unbalanced."
my russian colleagues in the office confirmed this statement and stated that "of course i don't smile at people that i don't know!"
despite my russification, i guess i'm considered mentally unbalanced...
(i also find it interesting that the smiling order only goes for tourists but not for locals - this is such a fascinating country!)
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